Michelle Yeoh Multiplies in Sandiwara, a Love Letter to Penang
Created as part of the Self-Portrait Residency program, the Sean Baker–directed short film spotlights the vibrant Malaysian city and designer Han Chong’s creations.
In Sandiwara, Michelle Yeoh gracefully weaves through the bustling streets of Penang. The city—one of Malaysia’s most vibrant and densely populated metro areas—is both the backdrop for and the subject of the film. Self-Portrait founder and designer Han Chong commissioned Academy Award-winning director Sean Baker and his partner, Samantha Quan, to create the charming project as part of the brand’s artist residency program. For Chong, the ten-minute short is both a love letter to his hometown of Penang and a chance to showcase his work at Self-Portrait.
In the film, Yeoh plays five different characters, each styled in a different Self-Portrait look. “Each look was designed to enhance the character, rather than make a statement,” Chong tells W. “Michelle was very involved in the fittings, approaching it like an actor stepping into a role and thinking about how each silhouette would help her step into the characters. That process was collaborative and intuitive, and we refined each look together until it felt authentic. They were all women we recognise, the clothes simply gave them form.”
Michelle Yeoh in Sandiwara
The film was shot on location in just two days, with Yeoh improvising the storyline for each role: a cotton-candy-haired influencer, a bicycle-riding waitress in punk bracelets and flared jeans, a food critic in a chic leather jacket and stern glasses, and a hardworking chef in a headscarf and baby blue silk dress. As each character journeys through the heart of the city, they eventually converge at The Red Garden food court, where a final Yeoh character, Lady Orchid, performs for the crowd in a white sequined gown with a matching fringed shawl.
“Penang has this quiet theatricality: its heritage architecture, its faded grandeur, the sense of history layered into every street,” Chong says. “It felt like the perfect stage for Sandiwara, which translates to ‘drama.’ At the end of the shoot, Penang had become our sixth character in the film.”
For Chong, working with fellow Malaysian native Yeoh was a kismet moment that “added another dimension to the film,” Chong says. “We share a cultural foundation, and that grounded the project in something very real and special for the two of us. It wasn’t just about shooting a movie, it was about honouring where we come from, and telling a story that feels both intimate and universal.”
Fresh off sweeping the Oscars last year with Anora and promoting his latest feature, Left-Handed Girl, Baker says the project provided a cathartic opportunity to reset creatively. He’s partnered with fashion houses before, making short films for Kenzo in 2016 and Khaite in 2021. For this project, he and Quan spent 10 days in Penang, “to truly absorb and immerse ourselves in the food culture there.” That’s how they found the historic George Town neighborhood of Penang and the massive food court where the story’s climax takes place.
“Representation is very important,” Baker adds. “I'm an outsider helping to bring a love letter to Malaysia to the big screen, so it must be done with respect and responsibility.”
Sandiwara made its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, and its US premiere on February 19 at a private LA venue with Yeoh, Chong, and Baker in attendance, along with guests including Kate Moss, Alessandra Ambrosio, Barbara Palvin, Highdee Kuan, and Dree Hemingway.
Watch Sandiwara, below:
